Last Thursday was Vinology’s second annual black wine event, a Halloween black-themed wine and food tasting. Vinology, for those unaware, is a wine bar and restaurant located on Main in downtown Ann Arbor. They were kind enough to invite Sunny (a Photo Editor for SHEI) and me (a lowly food writer) to this year’s black wine event, and we used the event to do what we do best—eat, drink and write.

Walking in, we were greeted by a friendly hostess, who, after sorting out some problems with our reservation, took us down a flight of stairs to our seats in the back corner of their “Bubbly” room: an intimate little dining area in the basement of the restaurant, featuring hand-blown glass “bubbles” hanging from the ceiling and various wine-related items like dried grape leaves decorating the walls.  We received a dinner menu and some information on the various wines we would blind-taste, and after a short bit of mingling the first wine was brought out, and the tasting began.

See--Informative too!

For the wine tasting, the bubbly room was decorated with carved pumpkins, black tablecloths and spiderwebs, and the lights were significantly dimmed. Probably the most striking element was the single, black, Riedel O-glass on the table, which was really the center of the tasting. Because of the color of the glass, it wasn’t possible to tell even what color the wine was, making the blind tasting experience that much more heightened. The atmosphere, coupled with an incredibly knowledgeable and friendly staff really made this event something special.

The most interesting wine of the evening was definitely the last, Trentadue’s Chocolate Amore, a fortified merlot from the Napa Valley infused with chocolate. This wine is a fantastic dessert wine, and was a natural complement to the brownie and chocolate ice cream it was paired with.

The Menu

Aside from dessert, I would say the food for the evening was nice enough, but not especially memorable. As a disclaimer, I’m a little hesitant to judge Vinology’s kitchen based off of this dinner alone.  Their menu appears to feature some great looking items that I’d love to try.  But I will say the dishes we were served weren’t all that interesting, and were overshadowed by the fantastic wine.

This Halloween experience was informative, creative, and most of all fun. Vinology’s wine program is absolutely phenomenal, and because of that I’d recommend a trip there for anyone interested in food and wine. Go for the wine–it’s the focus–and the wine program is absolutely comprehensive.
Another Vinology tasting that looks promising, and that is right up SHEI’s alley: Wine and Fashion event at Vinotecca in Royal Oak. This event, taking place Nov. 18, will be fashion-themed; local salons will be dressing and styling models to represent various wines.

SHEI’s food lover and writer, Jason Siegfried